Volunteers plant 2500 trees to provide a habitat for the endangered Honeyeater

Earlier this month almost 120 volunteers from across New South Wales planted 2500 trees throughout the Capertee Valley, in an effort to provide a secure habitat for the endangered Regent Honeyeater.

Private property owners have planted over 110,000 trees in the region as part of the tree-planting program that has been operating since 1994, which is aimed at providing nesting sites, sustainable habitat and nectar for the endangered bird.

According to volunteer Dick Turner, the project involves the planting at a rate of 500 trees per hectare. The White Box, Yellow Box and Mugga Ironbark have been designated as the three prime nectar-producing trees needed for the endangered Regent Honeyeater.

Keen to help out, Taronga’s Sydney Zoo supplied 49 of the 70 adult volunteers for the tree-planting day at a local property and within a few hours over 1600 trees were planted.

The recovery program is funded by the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority and is so popular that there is a waiting list of property-owners in the region willing to provide suitable land.